


One of Those Times They Hoped They Hadn't Press The Quiet One

by Kou (Rietto)



Category: Akatsuki no Yona | Yona of the Dawn
Genre: Although I understand Zeno better, Gen, Jae-ha's POV because I relate to him the easiest, originally meant to be Shin-Ah character study, spoiler galore, that dreaded talk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-28
Updated: 2015-03-11
Packaged: 2018-03-15 15:29:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3452300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rietto/pseuds/Kou
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>By some miracle, the dragon warriors are left alone to guard the tent.<br/>By some miracle, they noticed that Shin-Ah is troubled of something.<br/>By some miracle, they managed to make him spit it out.</p><p>"What's... marriage?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Español available: [Una de esas veces en las que ellos desearon no haber presionado al más callado](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4134729) by [narutinachan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/narutinachan/pseuds/narutinachan)



> I have test, so I'll finish it later.  
> Inspired by a convo I saw on tumblr about Shin-Ah probably wouldn't know what marriage is, and then he'd probably ask, and then they'd probably have a talk about it, but he'd probably misunderstood and hilarity ensued.

“Is something the matter, Shin-Ah? You seem troubled.”

Kija asked out of the blue one day, when for some odd reason that no one could understand, Yoon decided it's okay to leave the dragons to guard the tent while he, Yona and Hak went someplace to do something only Ik-Soo could predict.

Probably.

The masked warrior shook his head, as he chomped on his meal, Ao making noise as she too, happily eating on Shin-Ah's shoulder.

“Seem, you say...”

Jae-ha mused, and for a reason that could only be called instinct, Shin-Ah inched further from the fire. Noticeable only due to the squeak Ao made in surprise due to his sudden movement.

“How can you tell?”

He asked Kija after trying and admittedly failing in noticing anything, which wasn't that weird, as the only part of Shin-Ah that was visible was half of his face. He too, however, agreed with Kija. There was something nagging inside him, and he knew that it's related to Shin-Ah, someway or another, but still, he couldn't 'see' any sign from the younger warrior that he was indeed troubled, so he'd stayed quiet.

“... he keeps on staring at Zeno,” he answered as if it was obvious. The only explanation that came to Jae-ha's mind for his hesitation was because he's not sure why everyone else couldn't see it.

“How can you tell? He wears-”

But then, in Jae-ha's mind, the memory of that dreadful day when he accidentally splashed the masked warrior with a glass of love potion ('aphrodisiac', Yoon had insisted, but Jae-ha knew that aphrodisiac wouldn't keep anyone fixated on only one person, and his experience with the brothel and drugs had taught him the true effect of aphrodisiac, which wasn't that at all) came to mind, and so did the memory of spotting Shin-Ah always looking into the woods when he thought no one was looking earlier when Jae-ha was cooking.

If he's not mistaken, Zeno was in the woods, collecting firewood.

“I guess you're right.”

Still, it's amazing that Kija could realize that.

Shin-Ah looked up from his food, and after realizing that all eyes were on him, he ducked and hid his already covered face with the now empty bowl he's holding.

“Eh? Seiryuu's been staring at Zeno?”

Well, at least he's not the last to realize it, Jae-ha thought with a smile as he glanced at the oldest within the group. Zeno was too preoccupied with whatever was usually inside his mind to notice, apparently. Granted, Shin-Ah didn't seem to dare to look at him when he's in close proximity, so perhaps his obliviousness was not strange.

Somehow Jae-ha felt that Zeno knew though, and played dumb just because he could.

“Is it just me? Is it really just me?”

Kija started mumbling into his bowl. Jae-ha assured him that it's not.

“Nevermind that, now I'm curious. Shin-Ah, won't you relieve your big brother from his misery and just tell him?”

Kija choked on his food, and Jae-ha couldn't help but to laugh.

“If Zeno can help, Zeno will help too! Seiryuu is thinking of Zeno after all, right?”

“Speaking of Zeno, isn't it about your power?”

“Eeh? But Zeno have told you guys everything that's needed to know, right? And you guys have seen everything too!”

“Well, that's true...”

“So, maybe Shin-Ah's not thinking of that? Is it something else?”

It'd be much easier if only Shin-Ah would just say it. But, Jae-ha suspected that seeing his fellow dragon warriors talking to each other about him only made him even more reluctant to say anything.

“Whatever it is, the last on the list of possibility would be Zeno's marriage-life, though, right?”

He'd said it jokingly.

It's just that among the group, Shin-Ah was one of the innocent ones. Maybe even the most clueless of them all. It's hard to imagine him getting proper education on those things. On the matter of love and stuffs, Jae-ha meant. There's no way that that's on his mind. There's no way that that's what's been bothering him. To Shin-Ah, the topic wouldn't sound interesting.

But then, Ao squeaked.

Shin-Ah had shifted, ever so slightly,

The sound of fire crackling suddenly felt louder, as the dragon warriors froze.

“... it's that?”

“Oh! It's about that?”

Zeno just laughed.

Jae-ha supposed then that reverse could be true too. That it's because he'd never taught of it, he became curious of it. Yes, he supposed it's not that weird at all. To tell the truth he was curious too.

But somehow, he had a bad feeling about it.

He glanced at the other dragon warriors, to see if he's not the only one who got the premonition. Kija was almost pink, while Shin-Ah had looked up from his bowl and dare Jae-ha said it, he actually looked kinda hopeful. He didn't know how he could tell too, he just did.

“It's alright, Seiryuu. Ask away.”

For few long seconds, Shin-Ah only gaped like fish out of water, until finally he looked down, breathed in (and possibly shut his eyes behind his mask) before blurting the question almost inaudibly.

“... what's... marriage?”

That was to say, that's even shocking that the earlier realization.

Kija dropped his bowl, and Jae-ha noticed that Zeno had flinched and stopped moving entirely. If those two hadn't reacted that way, he would have thought that he'd misheard.

“Shin-Ah, you can't be serious...”

But for once, he stayed his ground and stayed unmoved, apparently determined to squeeze some answer from the older men. Shin-Ah only pursed his lips, and Jae-ha could feel the intensity of his gaze even from behind the mask.

And that's when Jae-ha knew that there's no escaping this.

“Old man, answer his question. You did say he could ask away.”

Jae-ha said as he stood up and went to fetch his secret stash of sake. He felt like he's going to need it if he wanted to get through the night.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forget to put it up here. Thank you to Sorasan for responding to that anon ask. Thank you for others for responding as well. Both in tumblr and in here.  
> To Anon, if you're reading this, I'm sorry I can only give you a fanfic and not an official side-material.
> 
> I hope this is to your liking. Pray for me to pass my test.  
> Peace out.

Putting almost stalkerish Zeno aside, Jae-ha was the only one in the group who wasn't there when Yona, Hak, and Yoon went to get Shin-Ah (translation, he's the only one who hadn't seen the eyes of Seiryuu, but who cares right?). But it didn't mean Jae-ha knew nothing about Shin-Ah and his life in his village. He'd heard that he wasn't exactly accepted there, and was ostracised since he was a mere child.

Since he could still be called a toddler even.

(Shin-Ah didn't seem like the type who could talk elaborate enough to tell the others about it, but apparently the villagers ranted to Hak like they needed someone to say 'poor you')

(Hak said they're monsters, and that's sugar coating it, because he said he pretty sure he included every dirty words and curses he knew, though it's kinda hazy since he was rather occupied with digging and they were just talking and rambling, and not helping)

(Jae-ha decided then that Hak was the best man ever lived in Kouka)

Hak had commented that it's like a miracle he turned out fine.

Well, granted, Shin-Ah had some (major) confidence issues, but really, it's a miracle that he only got that out of everything. Hak thought that if it's him, he'd use his power to get back at them for everything or something along the line of that. Jae-ha agreed with him. His village was all about 'DON'T LET THE DRAGON GET AWAY!' and so when he was told that Shin-Ah's village was all about 'WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE DAMMIT?!' he wondered why he decided to stay.

Hm.

Opposite. Reverse situation, he supposed. What appealed to him might not be appealing to others.

But still nothing could change his opinion that Shin-Ah was better off leaving his village. And that it'd be even better if it's earlier.

Maybe if he had, he'd get to meet someone like Captain Gigan who would then teach him about everything necessary in life.

The bird and bee talk would be one of those.

Granted, Shin-Ah only asked about marriage, but the implication was clear. He was genuinely clueless about it, and there's no doubt in Jae-ha's mind (and the others' too, he thought) that he's probably still don't know where babies come from.

Jae-ha groaned again.

He'd never thought he'd hear that kind of question out of someone that... that _big_. It's surprising. Mindblowing. He needed brain bleach. Obviously, there's no such thing, but he thanked the heaven that he had his secret stash. The (admittedly low quality) sake was better than nothing.

When he returned, after gulping a full flask in one go, Zeno hadn't said anything. His face was exactly as Jae-ha remembered before he left. Kija was also still pink, even more so in fact, and he was struggling for words. Like he was trying to answer Shin-Ah in Zeno's place.

“That is- how should I put it... Uh... It's to... ”

Yeah, that's what Jae-ha thought too.

Kija couldn't possibly be able to say 'it's tying yourself to a special someone so you can't copulate with others'.

He sat on his earlier spot again with a sigh and then smacked Zeno's back, making him cough in surprise.

“Spare the youngsters and just tell them why you married your spouse.”

And hopefully, he thought as he prayed to the heaven, Shin-Ah would find it sufficient. It's obvious that the best person in the group to tell him about the bird and bees would be Yoon. He practically begged anyone up there, even Hiryuu or whoever he'd normally not pray to, to let them stall. He promised he'd ask Yoon to tell Shin-Ah later.

Just spare him.

Zeno seemed to have read his mind, because Jae-ha felt like he could sense nervousness in his immediate response.

“Hahaha, well, it's because Zeno wants to be with her.”

Jae-ha supposed it's safe enough.

“... Marriage is... to be with someone?”

“To be exact, marriage is like a ceremony, Zeno think? Well, only the rich does it though. Zeno didn't have it grand. Just exchanging vows in front of a priest, and then we're married. Heard that in some places even that's not necessary. There's not that many priests around, you see?”

“...”

Jae-ha should have realized it then, but sadly he didn't.

“After that, well. Zeno can't exactly stay in one place, so she travelled with Zeno until she couldn't anymore.”

Granted, he'd realize later that it's because he already knew what marriage is, and so the things that came to his mind would be related to those known facts. Shin-Ah, on the other hand, was completely clueless.

His mind was a blank slate, so to speak.

The others waited with bated breath as they waited for Shin-Ah to process the new information, seemingly dazed. His head tilted slightly, and Ao mirrored his movement with a squeak.

“Yona... said I can be with her, even if with my power.”

Really he should have noticed. Perhaps Zeno has at this point. He'd went stiff again.

“I can travel with her... and with everyone too.”

It was only at this point that Jae-ha realized.

“So... I'm married to Yona? Everyone else too? We're all-”

 

“ _ **NO!”**_

 

Jae-ha cursed under his breath. Kija was a mess, almost red and was mumbling incoherently, while Zeno had heaved a sigh and covered his face with his hands. He was shaking slightly, but Jae-ha didn't know whether it's because he was crying (Jae-ha felt like crying at the moment) or because he actually laughing.

He wouldn't put it pass Zeno. He seemed to be the type to be able to smile and laugh through anything even if it's out of despair.

“... Sorry, Ryokuryuu. I didn't think it'd be this bad.”

“I didn't think anyone could draw that conclusion from your story either.”

He'd been told that he's a pervert, but even he couldn't. To think that it's the innocent ones that has to be looked out for...

Shin-Ah was stroking Ao, who had chosen to hide on his fur because she was startled by the men's outburst. Even if he hadn't said anything, and most likely wouldn't, Jae-ha felt like he could hear the unsaid plea for them to elaborate.

“Shi-Shin-Ah... You see, in marriage, besides exchanging vows, there're lots of other things need to be done! And so, no, you're not married to Princess. We're not... married...”

Kija sounded like he's close to tears, and Jae-ha didn't blame him.

Admitting that would be the hardest on him, Jae-ha supposed. He placed a hand on Kija's shoulder and chuckled humorlessly.

“That's right, Shin-Ah. Just because we're together like this it doesn't mean that we're married. For example, in marriage ceremony, a kiss is a must. If you haven't kissed, then you're not married yet.”

Shin-Ah looked down, and after a moment, he nodded curtly.

The bad feeling still hadn't disappeared.

“I don't think Big Brother has kissed the Miss too. So, they're not married too. And even if the Lad sleeps with the Miss, and that's what married couples do, they're not married either. We sleep together and we're not married. There's nothing that we've done that'd make us married... Well, Zeno'd say couple, but we're more than two, so... people?”

He glanced at Jae-ha, and the green haired man nodded.

Shin-Ah nodded again, silently saying that he understood.

Zeno heaved a relieved sigh, but just as Jae-ha thought, it's not over yet. His every fiber was screaming at him to make excuse and just get the hell away from Shin-Ah, but he knew it'd be useless. Determined Shin-Ah wasn't someone he could evade for long. If he's lucky, he wouldn't be stalked, but it wouldn't take long either for someone to can't take being followed by him around and drag him to have a joint discussion about this kind of thing again. A smaller part of him, the one he usually trusted more, told him that the best course of action at the moment was to deal with it like a man and get it over with quickly.

“... Well, that's the gist of it. You can ask more of it to Ik-Soo when we visit him. I mean, he is a priest. Or maybe to Yoon. He'd know about what should be done in marriage ceremony.”

And one way for that was to direct Shin-Ah to other source of information.

Zeno and Kija nodded enthusiastically, apparently agreeing with his tactic.

“Do you understand, Shin-Ah?”

Shin-Ah nodded again.

He opened his mouth though, as if wanting to say something before shutting it once more. Then he looked to his surrounding, then to Ao, then he opened his mouth again and apparently reconsidered before he could say anything.

Oh Lord.

Jae-ha screwed his eyes shut, sure that he's going to regret this.

“What is it, Shin-Ah? Don't be shy, and tell us.”

He's not surprised when Shin-Ah asked what's a kiss next.

Kija stuttered, and was so taken back that he answered with some strange gestures and the only words Jae-ha could register from his rambling was 'and then you go in!', and briefly he wondered if there's another poor uneducated soul here that needs some enlightening.

Zeno then decided that apparently it'd be better to show him by doing it, so he stood up, and kissed Shin-Ah on his cheek. His smile was kind and not unlike how the fishermen Jae-ha knew back in Awa would smile to their children.

“That's a kiss, Seiryuu. It's done to show our affection. Ah, but sometimes it's considered vulgar, so make sure you always ask before you do it. Do you understand?”

Shin-Ah nodded, and he could tell that a smile almost bloomed on his face.

That's when he could feel relieved, because that'd mean that Shin-Ah's more or less satisfied. Nothing could make him smile other than Yoon's delicious cooking anyway. For the time being, it's all over.

 

* * *

 

Jae-ha told Yoon then, as soon as he could, that Shin-Ah was in dire need of some education. The self-appointed genius raised an eyebrow at him and asked him to elaborate next. Predicting that somehow, telling the truth would make him refuse, he decided to just say half truths.

“Poor Shin-Ah wasn't taught anything in his village, and so he can't understand many things. Like reading, for example.”

He then proceeded to point out possible scenarios in which Shin-Ah's non-existent ability to read would probably be a game-changer, and Yoon was convinced. To tell the truth, Jae-ha didn't know if Shin-Ah could or couldn't read. He just put it out there.

Yoon said something that it's mostly true though, and so with a wide smile he then ask him to teach him stuffs. If it's Yoon, it'd be likely that he'd tell him to 'ask him anything', just because he had a passion for learning and teaching was a form of learning too, he'd heard from his Captain Gigan.

The sight of said boy genius coming out of the tent one day with bright red face while stomping as he called for Hak didn't escape Jae-ha. Yoon's murderous glare didn't escape him either. Or the fact that for a whole week after that, he was given less food and Hak refused to respond to his advances.

Jae-ha thought it's small price to pay.

 

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why can't I focus on studying...  
> Uhm...  
> Well, turns out it's not yet finished. Enjoy chapt 3.

Once, the dragon warriors were the most feared.

They're strong, they're monstrous, they're deadly... Stories depicted them as a force to be reckoned with, and those stories also said that there's nothing that could bring them down if they're together.

(You could hope to subdue Seiryuu, the weakest among them, and there's one almost forgotten story about how a group of rogues managed to capture him and nearly decapitated him just for the sake of using his eyes for weapon)

(Hakuryuu and Ryokuryuu's wrath didn't worth the risk, as they found out)

Well, it should be like that.

The storytellers obviously though hadn't considered the fact that despite their monstrosity, they're basically humans. Silly, foolish, happy-go-lucky humans.

“Now...”

And so, long story short, in present time, there's someone even the monsters feared, and that someone wasn't even their beloved Hiryuu. Wasn't even a warrior, wasn't someone with even more frightening power. Somehow, that kind of narration went through Jae-ha's mind as he bowed down, forehead touching the ground, alongside his fellow dragon warriors sans Shin-Ah, who was told to wait in the tent.

“Care to tell me who caused this?”

Without raising his head, he pointed to his side and yelled out the name of the one he blamed for this entire mess.

* * *

It all started not too long ago, when they made a mistake of pressing their youngest, most innocent member of the group to tell them the things apparently bothering him. It was a grave mistake. Very grave.

Temporary solution that Jae-ha could came up with was to direct said member to other source of information, and so in essence, pushing the responsibility of solving the problem to someone else.

He had to suffer for it too. He was given less food, and someone he liked to tease didn't respond to him at all for few days. But Jae-ha was content.

It's a small price to pay, he'd thought.

Now, Jae-ha felt like someone up there in heaven was laughing. Maybe Garou. He didn't know who, but he was sure of it.

Well, that's how the story started. But their current situation, albeit related to that, was caused by something new entirely.

What caused their predicament this time was not Yoon getting mad because suddenly he's tasked with giving Shin-Ah that talk about bird and bee. He didn't like it, apparently telling children about it was one thing, but older people was another, but he'd gotten over it. Hak told him in Yoon's stead apparently.

No, what caused Yoon to be mad wasn't that. It was what happened earlier at lunch.

It all started the same way. Yona thought that Shin-Ah seemed troubled, and so she asked him about it. It being Yona, Shin-Ah was less reluctant to tell her.

“Yona... can I kiss you?”

Needless to say, it was a taboo. It was what caused hell to break loose.

No, seriously.

To those who knew what caused him to say such a thing, they immediately glanced at Zeno. He was taking more serving to his bowl, and he was as surprised as the others. He dropped the ladle and stopped moving.

It was common knowledge within the group that Shin-Ah was special.

He had after all, been living literally under a rock (or in a cave, really) for over a decade. Also, for that same amount of time, the number of conversation he'd had with humans could probably be counted with one hand.

(Judging from the fact that squirrels don't get to live past a decade and as far as Jae-ha was concerned it could even be called a miracle if it could reach five year mark, that also meant that for some time he didn't even have Ao as company)

(Jae-ha shuddered at the implication)

That's why, it's to be expected that he thought highly of Yona.

Well, to be fair, the others too thought highly of Yona, but still Shin-Ah was special.

He didn't see Yona as a master, nor as a girl, nor as an incarnation of a holy man first and foremost. It wouldn't change a thing if Yona wasn't the one his blood was yearning, or if she was a man. He'd still follow her.

She'd saved him from loneliness, and for that he was grateful.

He got to be with people who didn't mind his power, and for that he was grateful.

She'd given him a name, humanize him, and for that he was grateful.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration if someone was to claim that Shin-Ah practically worship Yona.

That was to say, everyone had little doubt that to him, Yona wasn't someone he was attracted to romantically. His desire to monopolize her seemed non-existent, and no one thought it'd change anytime soon.

Even so, it was doubtful that he knew normal norm. He didn't seem to understand the term 'courting', and sometimes did things usually perceived as such without intention to do so. He called Yona by her name not because he wanted to ascertain his bond for example, but most likely because he wasn't used to use suffix. Now too. He only asked that because of what Zeno told him, surely.

Kiss is to show affection. He had to ask because sometimes it's considered vulgar.

Why he wanted to kiss Yona? Probably the same reason why children wanted to be held by their parents.

This time too, the first thought that came to the group's mind wasn't that 'oh my, Shin-Ah has finally realized his feelings'. Even those who weren't there when that talk took place few weeks before didn't thought of it.

 

_“Who was it the idiot who taught him stupid thing like this?”_

 

Without a doubt, Yoon and Hak thought that as they scanned the dragon warriors' faces, their faces clearly showed their anger.

“Uhm... Shin-Ah? Wha... Why would you...”

Yona's cheeks were tinted pink now. Shin-Ah's question had taken her off guard. He was after all, a man and Yona was a young woman. It'd be even more amazing if she wasn't fazed and just answered with a bright smile that she didn't mind.

(At that point however, Jae-ha might prefer for that to happen)

“I like Yona.”

The sound of something breaking then could be heard. Jae-ha instinctively searched his surrounding for the source of the sound, only to find Hak holding a bowl which had somehow split in two and smiling like (dare he said it) a giant beast spotting small cute bunny which had been trapped due to its own stupidity.

And that bunny wasn't Shin-Ah.

He needed to scram, quickly, but when he realized it, his dragon foot was being held by Hak.

“Where do you think you're going?”

“... nowhere, why?”

He hummed and his smile got a tad bit wider. Jae-ha felt chill down his spine.

Why must it be him...?

He questioned the heaven before deciding that if he was to go down, there was no way he'd go down alone. And so he grabbed Kija, who was apparently too mortified to notice.

Yona then, having snapped out of her surprise, grabbed Shin-Ah's arm and pulled him towards Yoon.

“Yoon, I think Shin-Ah's in the influence of a drug. Maybe even that drug that affected Kija. Can you help him?”

No one dared to point out the impossibility of that, since Kija himself had asked for the distribution of that drug to be stopped. And with Kija gone, the Hakuryuu Villager wouldn't think it's necessary to make more of it anyway.

Yoon however, didn't need someone to point it out. He glared at the other dragons before starting to examine Shin-Ah like a doctor would.

“Shin-Ah? Did you eat something weird? Are you feeling alright?”

Shin-Ah only shook his head slightly. He seemed confused.

“Do you feel hot? Are you palpitating? Do you feel faint?”

He shook his head again.

“Are you sure? Did you eat or drink something sweet?”

“Zeno gave me candy...?”

“Zeno wouldn't poison Seiryuu or anyone! Lad had the candy too and you're fine, right?”

The immortal dragon denied with disdain before covering his mouth with his hands, apparently realizing that he'd dug his own grave. Jae-ha cursed silently in his mind. Yoon's voice as he hummed in understanding was one of the scariest thing he'd ever heard.

“Hm... So he's not in influence of a drug...”

“... eh? He's not?”

“He's not. Although he _is_ under some sort of influence, I'd say. Thunder Beast, get Yona out of here. Go shop or whatever. I need to do some cognitive recalibration.”

“Co... cogni... what's that?”

Yoon turned to her and told her that it's a procedure which would hopefully be enough to bring him back to normal. In Jae-ha's mind, it was translated easily as 'I need to smack some sense into some idiots' heads'.

“Not something a girl should see though.”

“If I can help, I want to help. I'd be alright with anything.”

“Princess... trust me. You don't want to know.”

It took some convincing, but in the end Yona agreed to leave with Hak.

(Jae-ha hoped the convincing could last longer though)

And so, they're back to present time. Yoon told Shin-Ah to wait in the tent while he had a talk with the other warriors, and instinctively, the all powerful monsters assumed prostrating position as if they feared for their lives.

Yoon asked them then, who could possibly be the cause of this, and Jae-ha instinctively pointed to his side and announced the name of that person he blamed for the start of this mess.

“It's Kija!”

“Zeno did it!”

“Ryokuryuu!”

He'd never thought that everyone blamed different people, and announced different names at the same time.

There was silence, before Yoon hummed again and shifted his stance.

“So all of you are at fault, huh?”

No doubt about it.

They're doomed.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
>    
> 
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you for the art, Girafferaven. I cried.  
> Kou raised her hand at Yoon's question. Yes! It was first started by Yuaiya by sending Sorasan an anon AU prompt, and others responded, and then this silly writer decided to oh why not, let's write it, and then for some reason that she still cannot figure out so many people responded to it, and one of them is Girafferaven, who made the wonderful comic strip.  
> Yep.  
> It's all Yuaiya's fault.  
> I love you guys.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short... serious...  
> I'm sorry. Yoon is really mad for the important reasons.

Yoon told them to rise and then he flicked their foreheads. It stung, but the pain was more on the pleasurable side. Jae-ha couldn't help but to smile slightly from relief.

“Seriously, what is wrong with you beasts?”

He asked exasperatedly with a sigh.

“When it comes to someone like Shin-Ah, you have to be clear about what you say to him. If not, you're just corrupting him.”

Yoon shuddered a little, and Jae-ha was sure he heard him mumbling something along the line of 'one Jae-ha is enough', before he glared at the golden haired boy next to Jae-ha.

… eh? Zeno? Not him?

Even though Yoon didn't want an imitation of him, he's glaring at Zeno for some reason. It's as if he had known that Zeno was the one who'd explained to Shin-Ah what a kiss is.

“But Zeno only said it's to show affection! That's clear enough as it is!”

“That's the problem! You, stop teaching him things that can be misleading! You're supposed to be ancient so stop playing dumb for once!”

“But-”

“If he starts hugging and asking everyone to sleep with him on top of this, Zeno, I swear to Dragon God I'll make sure you don't ever get to eat meat again! EVER!”

Zeno gasped, horrified by the threat, and for the first time ever lost his composure and Jae-ha was sure he was close to tears.

“No! Don't deprive Zeno of meat!”

And then he fell to his knees and prostrated himself again. Yoon narrowed his eyes and sighed again. Apparently, despite the equal punishment he'd dealt, in his mind the one who'd gotten the guilty verdict was Zeno, and Jae-ha and Kija were just guilty by association.

Jae-ha had to admit, Zeno could be forgiven for lots of things because of his eternal boy status. If he had body of an old man, Jae-ha didn't think anyone would have let him have skinship he liked so much. Specially with Yona.

He tried to imagine Shin-Ah in Zeno's place.

Hugging at every opportunity, Yona specially.

Asking to sleep with Yona every night.

(And he supposed, he'd also kiss her a lot too, if she was to say 'yes')

He'd turn into a fiend. A creepy fiend, with his mask and few words. If he was to be the receiving end of it...

Memory of when he accidentally splashed him with love potion resurfaced.

Jae-ha shuddered.

Yoon's decision was justified, he supposed.

“Really... I wonder if I should just leave it to the Thunder Beast again...”

“Ah, now that you mention it, didn't you ask Hak to teach him... something? What did Shin-Ah ask anyway?”

“He asked about what to do so that he can marry all of us.”

Kija choked on nothing and coughed.

“All of...”

“Yep. All of us. Not just Yona. He said he want to marry all of us men too.”

“Eeh...”

“He said in all seriousness, 'I want to be with everyone, so I want to marry everyone'. Then he said Jae-ha told him to ask me the how-to since Ik-Soo is a priest and I must know what's necessary for a ceremony.”

Jae-ha flinched and bowed down again. Yoon sounded calm but his eyes were scary. He's still holding grudge. Jae-ha supposed he'd get mad too. Shin-Ah was too pure for anything he said to be taken as a joke.

“I offer you my most sincere apology.”

On the other hand, if it's Jae-ha who said it, Yoon would probably call him disgusting and laughed it off.

Yoon sighed again before sitting down on the ground and folding his arms, bringing himself to the same level as the three dragon warriors. Jae-ha and Zeno then rose and inched closer to the self-proclaimed pretty boy.

“It was a pain to explain. Really, thanks for nothing. It's the first time ever I've been proposed to seriously.”

“To be fair, Lad, you would make an excellent wife.”

“Oh, I'm sure of it. Without me, you'd all be miserable. But that's not the point.”

“Then-”

“I turned him down out of habit.”

The dragons blinked in confusion. It's expected for Yoon to reject him. Jae-ha wondered what's the mistake in that, because Yoon seemed like he'd made a serious blunder. Apparently realizing that no one understood his dilemma, he sighed and murmured something along the line of 'why am I surrounded by idiots?'.

“Shin-Ah doesn't want romantic ties from all of us. He just wants to be with us. As his friends. Family, maybe. And I said 'no' to that. I almost destroyed him.”

Everyone still couldn't respond. Yoon groaned in frustration.

“Look, you might think it's simple, and don't try to deny it, I know you guys don't want to get into the gory details because it's embarrassing, or maybe it brings back bad memories, but this is Shin-Ah we're talking about. If he misunderstands, it could be the end of the world for _him_. Kija, you should know better. You were there. Shin-Ah was rejected by the people on his village. What would happen if he thought that we reject him too?!”

“We would never-”

“Thought being the keyword here, Kija. What you will or will not do is irrelevant here. Really, earlier was a close call! If Yona had said 'no' bluntly, he'll think she doesn't like him or something, when she even said that to Thunder Beast!”

“Wait, Hak has-”

“That's not the point! We're talking about Shin-Ah here! Focus!”

Yoon seemed like he was so close to smack them with whatever was available. Jae-ha noticed that his hands had been formed into fists. Unconsciously, his eyes seek the tent where Shin-Ah was. He wondered what the youngest dragon was thinking inside, alone, completely aware that the others were talking about him.

Despite the double handicap, his mask and the tent, he must be able to see. And they weren't exactly quiet either.

“... he's that bad?”

“Worse than whatever you can think of. I'm starting to think that it's a mistake to have this conversation here. Leaving him entirely would not be good either though.”

“Why did you ask Yona to leave? Wouldn't he be calmer if Yona's here?”

“Yeah, and I can also drag her here and tell her 'don't ever refuse Shin-Ah, high chance you'll break him', and make things unnatural between them. That's a great idea. I'm sure the awkwardness won't make Shin-Ah feel bad and maybe blame himself even more! Why didn't I think of that, geez.”

Yoon said it monotonously, and perhaps that's what made Jae-ha felt guiltier than ever.

“Zeno takes off!”

“Ah, wait, Zeno, me too!”

Zeno and Kija rushed then, towards the tent. Yoon glanced at their running figure and waved silently before raising his eyebrow at Jae-ha questioningly.

“You... asked Hak for help.”

“I did.”

“Why?”

“Same reason you did, I guess. Telling him supposedly common sense stuffs is hard right? And for a moment I thought he's terrified of me. I had to ask someone. Yona is out, for the reason I just told you, and I figured you beasts are together. Process of elimination is all.”

Jae-ha laughed sheepishly before standing up himself.

To tell the truth, he'd expected Yoon to be mad, but it wasn't for this reason.

“I didn't think about his circumstances at all.”

Jae-ha thought he did. Perhaps not enough. Not more thorough.

“Well, don't think much of it. Don't act too careful too. Aaah, really... Why am I telling you guys all this? I'm youngest among you, right? I know I'm supposed to be a genius, but still.”

“I'm really sorry. I'll make sure it won't happen again.”

“You better.”

The silent threat was not unheard.

 


End file.
